How to edit Disclaimer?

I would like to edit what the Woltlab software calls the the "Disclaimer". This is the page that new members see when they register. Two questions:

First of all, if I changed the name, would this have any negative effect on how the software works? I basically want to change the name to Rules or Terms & Conditions?

Secondly, (see attached picture) I cannot see a box to alter the contents of the Page called Disclaimer so that I can put in my own forum rules into the page. A similar page, the Privacy Policy, there is a contents box where you can change the contents. How can I put my own rules into the Disclaimer box?

Many thanks

Jupiter

I am a Newbie Admin. Please be gentle, I don't understand technical things.(Please can we have a full manual for this software)

I never would have found that in a million years, even though I searched for the word disclaimer in admincp, so clearly the search there is not very good.

This is another reason why there needs to be a manual, which I requested in the suggestions section here. Overall, the software is very easy to use up until the point it's not.... and a manual is needed. I can't understand all the boxes and exactly how they all work. It really needs a manual to explain everything.

Thank you for your answer Throwholics, much appreciated.

I am a Newbie Admin. Please be gentle, I don't understand technical things.(Please can we have a full manual for this software)

I would like to edit what the Woltlab software calls the the "Disclaimer". This is the page that new members see when they register. Two questions:

First of all, if I changed the name, would this have any negative effect on how the software works? I basically want to change the name to Rules or Terms & Conditions?

Just an FYI, Disclaimer =/= Terms and Conditions, those are 2 completely different things. And you want both.

I know you said "the Woltlab software calls the the "Disclaimer"" But it isn't what they call Disclaimer it is what everyone in the world calls a Disclaimer. T&C does not protect you from lawsuits the way a Disclaimer does.

If you are in a different country (not Germany), I would edit for a different disclaimer. I would also have a Privacy Policy, Legal Notice and a Terms and Conditions, those are all different things that serve different legal needs.

If you just have a ToS and something happens, and with someones identity, content, ect, ect, ect, you will be sued and you will lose. I would familiarize yourself with what those things are before changing any of them.

At the very least, if you want to go just a TOS route, or have your disclaimer in your TOS, you need to section them out. IE "Privacy Policy" > "Disclaimer" > "Legal Notice" > "Terms of Service". All in 1 page is fine, but they need to specify what is what. That is how the big sites do it, when they want 1 page.

As far as UK law goes, I can't speak for elsewhere, as long as I have the phrase, which I do, "this forum is unmoderated" in my Terms and Conditions, then I don't believe I need a separate disclaimer. But I will research further.

Just an FYI, Disclaimer =/= Terms and Conditions, those are 2 completely different things. And you want both.

I know you said "the Woltlab software calls the the "Disclaimer"" But it isn't what they call Disclaimer it is what everyone in the world calls a Disclaimer. T&C does not protect you from lawsuits the way a Disclaimer does.

If you are in a different country (not Germany), I would edit for a different disclaimer. I would also have a Privacy Policy, Legal Notice and a Terms and Conditions, those are all different things that serve different legal needs.

If you just have a ToS and something happens, and with someones identity, content, ect, ect, ect, you will be sued and you will lose. I would familiarize yourself with what those things are before changing any of them.

At the very least, if you want to go just a TOS route, or have your disclaimer in your TOS, you need to section them out. IE "Privacy Policy" > "Disclaimer" > "Legal Notice" > "Terms of Service". All in 1 page is fine, but they need to specify what is what. That is how the big sites do it, when they want 1 page.

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Hi cyberlocc,

This whole issue in this post I find interesting AND informative.

I have copied everything to a Microsoft File for me to refer back to when I may need it.

The information YOU provided has been taken quite seriously by me, as my partner and I operate a Forum that is potentially

a legal nightmare on at least two fronts if we do not take the time and effort to protect ourselves legally.

I never would have found that in a million years, even though I searched for the word disclaimer in admincp, so clearly the search there is not very good.

Hi Jupiter,

I came across this same situation when I was first making changes and modifications to my Forum (I have Woltlab Suite 3.0.5).

Your statement in this post is something that I can well appreciate and understand !

Not only with regards to the "Disclaimer" issue, but also to similar issues as well!

In my opinion there are improvements that need to be made when it comes time to unveiling the next version of Woltlab Forum Software;

and one of the most neededimprovements is this issue of "manage phrases" in the ACP.

It is confusing, complicated, and needlessly time consuming.

One of the things that I have noticedthrough experience with communicating withtechnical people - whether with Woltlab Designers

OR other Technicians and Designers with other firms and companies - is there seems to be a common "thread" which apparently

exists in the mind-frame of nearly every technical individual I have ever dealt with, to wit:

In their "explanations" - to those of us who are far less technically knowledgeable - when we have questions about some technical issue or feature

we don't understand, they are sometimes either very vague in what they tell us,or they seem to automatically assume we know and understand

what they are telling us even though the information they give is very briefornearly without illustration or example.

And that is at least one reason WHY your opinion Jupiter - that there should be a "manual" for many if indeed not all forum features and choices available and how to make modifications or changes thereof - is indeed a logical statement / request.

I have copied everything to a Microsoft File for me to refer back to when I may need it.

The information YOU provided has been taken quite seriously by me, as my partner and I operate a Forum that is potentially

a legal nightmare on at least two fronts if we do not take the time and effort to protect ourselves legally.

Hi Jupiter,

I came across this same situation when I was first making changes and modifications to my Forum (I have Woltlab Suite 3.0.5).

Your statement in this post is something that I can well appreciate and understand !

Not only with regards to the "Disclaimer" issue, but also to similar issues as well!

In my opinion there are improvements that need to be made when it comes time to unveiling the next version of Woltlab Forum Software;

and one of the most neededimprovements is this issue of "manage phrases" in the ACP.

It is confusing, complicated, and needlessly time consuming.

One of the things that I have noticedthrough experience with communicating withtechnical people - whether with Woltlab Designers

OR other Technicians and Designers with other firms and companies - is there seems to be a common "thread" which apparently

exists in the mind-frame of nearly every technical individual I have ever dealt with, to wit:

In their "explanations" - to those of us who are far less technically knowledgeable - when we have questions about some technical issue or feature

we don't understand, they are sometimes either very vague in what they tell us,or they seem to automatically assume we know and understand

what they are telling us even though the information they give is very briefornearly without illustration or example.

And that is at least one reason WHY your opinion Jupiter - that there should be a "manual" for many if indeed not all forum features and choices available and how to make modifications or changes thereof - is indeed a logical statement / request.

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Yep I am in the same boat, I never thought much about disclaimers and TOS's, but seeing how my site is for my extremely unfiltered gaming community, I am studying this stuff HARD, because I see a lawsuit brewing.

Well I am still developing my site but decided I would just use all three, a TOS, Disclaimerand Privacy Policy. I also know I probably overlapped a bunch when I chose these but that is okay with me. One thing I will tell you if your in the US, do not say you will remove anything immediately, say something along the lines of you will look into the matter and take appropriate actions.

Well I am still developing my site but decided I would just use all three, a TOS, Disclaimerand Privacy Policy. I also know I probably overlapped a bunch when I chose these but that is okay with me. One thing I will tell you if your in the US, do not say you will remove anything immediately, say something along the lines of you will look into the matter and take appropriate actions.

Your comment about: "... if your in the US, do not say you will remove anything immediately ..."

caught my attention! I am assuming you have some legal and logical reason for saying this ...

I am going to go back and check the wording I used in the five (5) Policy Links I established recently;

Ruff Seas: Yes I did some reading a while back in regards to protecting your site from law suits in the US. This included reading up in section 230 of the Communications Decency act and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Somewhere in there dmlp.org recommended not using the term "immediately remove" because it implies a time frame that may not be able to be fulfilled. They backed it up with a discussion about a court case and why a site lost its protection. The law requires you to expeditiously take down the content but does not provide guidance about what expeditiously is. There for when saying immediately you are defining that. Instead saying "promptly investigate and take appropriate action" or something along those lines is better because it gives you some breathing room to take action. I will have to find the link to the appropriate information but for now here is a excerpt from the site that is also quite helpful:

Quote

In order to qualify for the safe harbor protections, you must also publish a statement on your site giving notice to your users of your DMCA agent's contact information and your policies regarding copyright infringement and the consequences of repeated infringing activity. The notice can be a part of the website's terms of use or some other notice displayed prominently on the site. For more on terms of use, see the Terms of Use and Website Privacy section for details. The statement should explain that you respond expeditiously to notices of claimed copyright infringement andterminate users or account holders who are "repeat infringers." If you have no subscribers or account holders, your policy may state "If we become aware that one of our users is a repeat copyright infringer, it is our policy to take reasonable steps within our power to terminate that user."

You may want to include a statement detailing the proper form for a notice of claimed infringement, which must include:

a physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the infringed copyright;

identification of the copyrighted work or works claimed to have been infringed;

identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed;

information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact the complaining party (e.g., the address, telephone number, or email address);

a statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material is not authorized by the copyright owner; and

a statement that information in the complaint is accurate and that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.

17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3)(B) states that if a complaining party does not substantially comply with these requirements, its notice will not serve as "actual notice" for the purpose of Section 512. Your policy statement should also include a statement explaining the procedure for users of your site to make a counter-notification (discussed below).